Luke 6

Posted on Mar 10, 2017 in Bible (NT) in a Year |

Friday

I love how Jesus is always ready with a quick response.

Again the Pharisees are trying to trip up Jesus into admitting that he or his disciples are doing something wrong. This time – Jesus says to them… “what haven’t you even read the scriptures?” (meaning the Hebrew scriptures, our Old Testament)… well, of course they have, and they have studied them, and they know them – some of them I’m sure know them word for word. But did they understand them. Reading and knowing something… doesn’t mean you understand it. Like I know that Einstein’s theory of relativity is E=mc2. But it doesn’t mean that I understand it. (and I have had people try to explain it to me). The Pharisees, even though they have clearly read the scriptures, are trying to use them to disprove Jesus, who is the embodiment of the scriptures. He is the Word. There is no argument that the Pharisees will ever be able to use to disprove Jesus.
 

But they still try. Jewish laws said that there were 39 categories of activities forbidden on the Sabbath – and harvesting was one of them. And just so we would know what “harvesting” entailed, the teachers of the law, described different methods of harvesting…. One being you can’t rub the heads of grain between the hands. But Jesus’ disciples weren’t doing anything wrong in God’s eyes. The farmers were supposed to leave the edges of their fields unplowed so travelers and the poor could glean them. (Remember the story of Ruth… this is what she was doing in Boaz’ field) So the disciples weren’t stealing grain from the farmer, and they may have been breaking the Pharisee’s law, laws that were designed to manipulate the people, not teach them any valuable godly lesson.

So Jesus uses the well-known story of David and his followers (1 Samuel 21:1-6) to prove his point, that human needs, helping and caring for one another are more important that regulations. Jesus is showing what grace is concerned with. Are we building one another up, or are we tearing them down.

We must always work to do good and to not harm.

And he doesn’t stop with grain… Jesus goes on to heal a man’s hand on the Sabbath and asks the question “Which is lawful to do on the Sabbath – good or evil.” How are we spending our time… are we helping or hurting, building up or tearing down, doing good or doing evil? Are we more concerned with building up the kingdom or living by the letter of the law? I think these question goes beyond just the Sabbath into our everyday lives. What are we doing to promote the Good News?

Sharing God’s message

Pastor Kathy